It is every parent’s nightmare to lose a young child, but that turned out to be reality for one family in this medical malpractice case.

“Gerry” was a 9thgrader who competed in track and field. One day after track practice, Gerry called home to tell his father that he was not feeling very well and that he had unexpectedly vomited. The father picked his son up at school and when they got home, Gerry was so weak that he had trouble getting out of the car. His father called a doctor who told him to make sure the boy had enough fluids and to keep an eye on him. Gerry drank Gatorade, ate some toast and went to bed.

The next day Gerry woke up still weak and with a stiff neck. His mother called the doctor who was concerned about the stiff neck and insisted that the boy be brought in immediately. The doctor gave Gerry a rapid strep test, which came back positive -indicating that bacteria was developing in his throat and neck. Gerry was sent immediately to the emergency room.

At the hospital Gerry was given a brain scan and a spinal tap. The hospital staff discovered blood was in the fluid removed from the spine. One of the doctors said she “nicked” Gerry during the spinal tap but that Gerry was okay. The hospital continued treating Gerry for another 24 hours based a diagnosis of possible meningitis. He was discharged from the hospital despite his complaints of his neck still being stiff, and him not being able to read. One doctor told Gerry’s mother that it was just sinusitis and strep throat.

Two days later, Gerry was taking a shower and collapsed. He was taken to a different hospital with different doctors. When the original medical records arrived, it was revealed that Gerry had previously suffered a brain aneurism and this was a “second bleed”. Tragically, the young boy died. As it turned out, the blood found in the spinal tap was not a result of a “nick” – but an aneurism that if detected earlier, could have been treated with emergency surgery. With medical malpractice lawyer a wrongful death suit against the hospital had been brought and settled for a substantial sum – right after the defendant’s pediatric neurologist testified that she should have considered that the blood in the spinal fluid could have also been the result of an aneurism.